Terry Goddard Announces 25-Year Prison Term for Member of Phoenix Gang

(Phoenix, Ariz. – Sept. 9, 2010) Attorney General Terry Goddard today announced the sentencing of Victor Mireles, 26, of Phoenix, to 25 years in prison for second-degree murder and aggravated assault in a 2003 gang-related crime. He will receive a five-year credit for time already served.

“Gang-on-gang violence has been declining, but it is still a major concern for law enforcement,” Goddard said. “This case reinforces the rule that gangsters who order the shootings of their rivals are every bit as guilty as the henchmen who do the shootings.”

On Nov. 14, 2003, Mireles, a senior member of the East Side Wetback Power 8th Street (WBP 8th Street) gang, directed junior members of his gang to the neighborhood of the East Side Los Cuatro Milpas (LCM). With his younger brother Francisco Mireles driving, Victor Mireles took Christopher Reyes and five others to the LCM neighborhood near the 1000 block of Cocopah. When they arrived, Victor Mireles directed the Reyes to shoot individuals believed to be members of LCM. Reyes fired three shots from a shotgun, killing Richard Sanchez and seriously injuring Antonio Olaguez.

Reyes was previously convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years.

Mireles was sentenced in Maricopa County Superior Court. This case was prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General Tim Linnins and investigated by Detective Jeffrey Nolder of the Phoenix Police Department’s Gang Unit.